Ups and downs? Sure. You can go either direction, and sometimes the route to your destination isn't always obvious.

When a business deal closes and you know all the way to your bones that it's solid and secure, it feels like there’s nothing in the world capable of impeding your power. Success is a profound aphrodisiac and it doesn't matter if you're a restauranteur, a movie maker, or a corporate attorney: when you're hot, you're hot.

On the long walk out to your glorious moment in the sun, you're likely to pass through trials of all sorts. Financial pressures will squeeze you just as inevitable doubts about your own strategic wisdom will likely creep in. Some parts of your journey to success will be all about hanging on to your resolve, simply deciding to keep moving, one day more. Confident though you may be, convinced of your smart planning, indomitable spirit, and superior skills, there’s no guarantee of success until the work is successfully done.

There is no guarantee, no guarantee, no guarantee, and, yet some people—the ones whom we read about and celebrate and idolize—somehow manage to keep going. But not everyone.

You will encounter bad days. If you’re unwilling to accept that there will be inevitable setbacks, they you can’t actually aim for any sort of real and measurable success. Good days only come if you can handle bad ones without freaking out. Some days will be tiresome and tedious; some will disappoint and frustrate. Some days—and you need to know this sure as you can count on being hungry some time in the future—a whole hearted pursuit of success will result in failure.

The only way to keep from failing is not to set off on a hard road in the first place. A life spent with all things largely known at daybreak is unlikely to yield much in the way of success when the sun goes down. Success usually comes from the discovery of something that was unknown, be that a new business partnership, a piece of art, or smartly executed social media campaign. You didn’t know how you would achieve success before you discovered your solution.

It’s fun to hit the high points. It sucks to be down low. But don’t be distracted by avoiding one and aiming for the other. Your real success lies in being present today, right now. Get rid of distractions, and bring your best self to the journey. After all, its your life, isn’t it? Who wants to go through life wishing it was something else all day long?